


I Could Have Danced All Night

by Pixie



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tumblr: jaegercon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-22 16:12:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/915292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixie/pseuds/Pixie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newton decides it's his goal to get Hermann drunk enough to dance with him.</p>
<p>For the Jaegercon Bingo square - Alcohol. Title from a song from My Fair Lady.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Could Have Danced All Night

No-one is really sure where the alcohol came from – the only clue any of them have is the faint smile ghosting across Tendo's lips whenever someone asks. Newton doesn't stop to ask, merely grabs a shot in one hand and two bottles in the other. He weaves his way through the crowd, eyes fixed on the slightly awkward figure of a man, leaning uncomfortably against the wall.  
“Hermann!” he shouts, raises the shot and downs it in one go. “Drink!” He thrusts a bottle towards him, and Hermann takes it – though not without eyeing it up suspiciously. “It's beer, you like beer!”  
“Whilst that statement may be correct, I'm sure why it has lead to you handing me one right now.”  
“Because we are celebrating, and you are not drunk enough.”  
“I'm quite happy sober, thank you.”  
“Oh come on – afraid I'll persuade you to dance with me?”

Hermann manages to force out some biting remark, but the truth is there. Newton – Dr. Geiszler, he tries to remind himself – had always intrigued him in some way, like some remarkable formula or a pattern hidden amongst otherwise ordinary numbers. Everything about him thrummed with energy, a body forever in motion. And yet – and yet it was Newton who slowed down to keep pace, instead of waiting for him to catch up. It was Newton who'd turned up with a brand new cane the day after he'd broken his, Newton who'd punched one of the new lab techs in the nose for daring pass judgement (and the thought didn't make him smile, no, not one bit). It was Newton...

 ...who was standing, with his hands on his hips and a cocky grin on his lips, as though daring him to argue.  
“You know you want to.”  
“As I said, I am not drunk enough -”  
“Aha!”  
“- Nor do I intend to be so.” Still, one beer couldn't hurt, and so Hermann takes a sip, before positioning himself more comfortably against the wall. “Go on,” he says, gesturing towards the hoards of dancing people. “Go be a rockstar.” Newton salutes, spins, and heads back into the fray.

Hermann has never really enjoyed parties – never enjoyed the too-loud music, too-hot atmosphere and the too-close dancing. Still, the 'dome is huge and he stays on the edges, occasionally being pulled into conversations and then leaving again. It's nice feeling wanted for a change, being thanked for his work (our work, he corrects them, before realising what he's said). Newton appears a few more times, and Hermann could swear he can see him looking worried the few times he's moved.

The night goes on, and Hermann finds himself watching Newton. He's got something to say to everyone, it seems, and he's greeted almost universally with fond smiles. No wonder they were such opposites – Hermann is abrasive, harsh and keeps others at arms lengths, and whilst Newton is often inappropriate and loud, he draws people to him. He watches as Newton dances with Mako – her laughing in his arms as he whirls her round, all mock-pomposity and grace, before moving on to rock out with Tendo.

Newton, meanwhile, finds himself focused on a certain choice of phrase Hermann had used – not drunk enough. It wasn't a no, and the tone hadn't been one of disgust but amusement. Newton's not sure he's drunk enough either, but he's going to try. The shots taste like moonshine (thinking about it, Newton realises they probably are) and the beer is getting warm, but he's enjoying the sting of alcohol in his throat too much to stop now. He tries a few more times to hand Hermann a drink, but the man seems content with just the one, so Newton dances with everyone in the room except the one person he was hoping to.

Finally, as the night outside grows cold and the music begin to slow, Newton decides he's never going to be drunk enough so he may as well get it over with. He looks around for Hermann, and is surprised to find him looking back. Neither man quite knows whether to break eye contact or not, so Newton grabs Mako and bows unsteadily to her. She giggles, curtsies, and accepts another whirl around the dance-floor with him.  
“Did you persuade him yet?” she shouts in his ear, and Newton pulls back, surprised.  
“What? Who?”  
“Hermann, you idiot.”  
“What?”  
“Oh, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about – you've been trying to get him to dance all night!” She giggles again, and Newton dips her dramatically, attempting to change topic. But she comes straight back up and leans in close. “If you don't ask him, I'm going to.”  
“What – no, if he's going to dance with anyone tonight -” Mako's giggling turns into a full blown laugh, and Newton swears.  
“Fine!” he says, spinning her out quickly and losing his own balance in the process. She presses her lips to his forehead and flashes him a brilliant smile.  
“Good luck!” The next thing he knows, she's back in Raleigh's arms, laughing and whispering in his ear, and Newton is left staring across the room at Hermann. Hermann, attempting to look anywhere but him. Hermann, with his oversized blazer, and his refusal to get drunk, and his absolutely fascinating mind.

He arrives in front of him without remembering the walk, extends a hand and with what he hopes is a sufficient amount of charm, says, “Dance.”  
“As I've said many times tonight already, I have not had nearly enough to drink to do so.”  
“Well, I have.” He takes Hermann's hand, and is surprised that the other man lets him. “You won't be needing that cane.”  
“Newton, of course I -” And then Newton is much closer than he planned to be, one arm around Hermann's waist, the other holding up his weight. It's an attempt at a waltzing pose, albeit a drunken one, and Hermann is surprised by how competent it is. “What are you doing?”  
“ _We_ ,” Newton says, and he's far too close now, close enough that Hermann could lean down and - “...are dancing.” And then he's leading them away from the wall and Hermann is most certainly too sober for this, every part of him aware of how ridiculous they must look – what, with him being taller than Geiszler, despite being the one following, and Geiszler's attempts at suave being slurred and stuttered thanks to the incredible amounts of alcohol that must be flowing in his system.

 Newton looks up at him and beams, and suddenly, it all makes sense.

“Dr. Geiszler,” Hermann says, his voice low. “Why are we dancing?”  
“Please, it's Newton – and because.”  
“You could have danced with anyone. You have,” he corrects himself. “Danced with everyone.”  
“Not with you.”  
“And that's important?”  
“The most important.” The smile is there again, and Hermann finds himself aware of the fact that they're dancing much slower than the others, that Newton is supporting almost all of his weight to the point where he'd almost forgotten his hip didn't usually allow him to do this sort of thing, and that none of this surprises him at all.  
“Newton, I...”

Suddenly, the song changes, and Newton groans and stops. Hermann can't help but notice the way he barely has to think about being in sync – something he hasn't had to think about since they drifted.  
“What?” Hermann listens, and finds it to be some unbearably cliché love song. Newton whirls him round, looking over towards the speakers and sees Mako and Raleigh doubled over with laughter. He glares pointedly, and she finally manages to get up and change it, but it's too late and everyone is staring. There are whispers, and laughter, and he's pretty sure he hears Tendo shout out something that sounds suspiciously like _get in there_ , and then Newton is gone.

The room falls quiet, and Hermann limps over to the wall, picks up his cane, and follows.

It turns out Newton hasn't gone far – his drunken stumbling carrying him out into the corridor and into the wall. He notices Hermann, and covers his face with his hands.  
“Geez, I'm so embarrassed – I shouldn't have gotten this drunk, I shouldn't have asked you to dance, it's not like you wanted to anyway, and it's not like...”  
“Dr. Geiszler,” Hermann says, but it's a tone Newton hasn't heard used with that name before. “Will you just stop rambling and look at me for one second.” He peeks through his fingers and relaxes as he sees Hermann suppressing a smile. Then, to his surprise, he sees him lean the cane against the wall, and step forward, offering a hand. “You wanted to dance, so let's dance.” They can still hear the music from the main room, and Newton looks awkwardly back towards it.  
“In there?”  
“I'm not sure I can walk that far.”  
“Oh...oh shit, sorry, listen man, I...”  
“I have noticed, however, that right behind you is the door to one of the balconies, and if I remember these things correctly, isn't dancing under the stars the best way to do it?” For the first time in more than a decade, Newton finds himself without response. He merely allows Hermann pick up his cane, push the door open and take his hand.

The cold air hits him like a blast of sobriety and he finds his arm around Hermann's waist, finds himself beginning to step in time with the music and wonders how much of it is him and how much of it is remnants of their drift. The breeze is gentle, the lights of Hong Kong glimmering on the horizon and endless stars stretching above them. “Better?” Hermann asks, breaking the silence, and then Newton is kissing him, his constant movement stilled, all of his energy focused into one deliberate motion. It's short, Newton's lips tasting of poorly-brewed alcohol and his balance wavering towards the end, but then again, it couldn't have been any other way. To Hermann's surprise, the man is shaking as he pulls away, and won't look him in the eye.  
“I, uh...I...”  
“Newt,” Hermann whispers.  
“So, I suppose that really, now is probably the time that I...”  
“Newt.”  
“...should start some spiel about the whole reason...”  
“Newt!” Finally, he looks up, and feels Hermann's lips meet his own before he can speak. It's quick, but he can feel the smile behind it.  
“You could have said,” he says petulantly, and Hermann quirks an eyebrow at him.  
“Was I really meant to take your drunken attempts to get me to dance as a seduction?”  
“Well, obviously that's what I was getting at, it's not my fault that you didn't see it – honestly, mathematicians, it's all data, data, data -”

Hermann leans into the arms supporting him, picking up the dance where they had left off. The heavens echo their steps above them, until the only sound in the 'dome is the bickering of the two scientists – and even that fades as the dawn comes.


End file.
